A former employer of the Connecticut woman who was killed following a Washington car chase says she was fired from her job as a dental hygienist about a year ago.

Periodontist Brian Evans of Hamden, Conn., says Miriam Carey worked at his office for two years and had been a good employee. He declined to comment Friday on how that might have changed or the factors that led to the end of her employment.

He said Carey left the office shortly after she was hospitalized with a head injury she suffered in a fall down a staircase.

The 34-year-old Stamford woman was identified by law enforcement officials as the woman who led police on a chase through Washington on Thursday after trying to breach a barrier at the White House.